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Reverse Mountain Arc
The Reverse Mountain Arc is the seventh story arc of the One Piece manga and the first in the Alabasta Saga. In this arc, the Straw Hat Pirates make their way to Reverse Mountain, and begin the perilous task of scaling its tricky rapids slope in order to enter the Grand Line. As they descend the mountain, they find that something huge is blocking the entrance. This arc also sets up a plot line for a new Straw Hat member in the far future. Summary A Giant Whale and a Mysterious Duo The arc begins with the Straws Hats arriving at Reverse Mountain through the storm after fleeing Loguetown. They are nearly blown off course and into the Calm Belt but eventually reach the entrance of Reverse Mountain and manage to climb its uphill rapids despite some tricky close calls. As they come down they hear a noise and notice something is blocking their path. They identify the blockage as a huge whale which is threatening to crush the Going Merry. Monkey D. Luffy manages to keep the ship from crashing into it, but seeing the bow broken off enrages Luffy and he attacks the whale. The whale swallows the Going Merry and her crew, except for Luffy who manages to escape onto the whale's back. Luffy finds an oddly placed hatch on the creature before it dives and climbs in. Inside, the Straw Hats suddenly find themselves in what looks like an outside setting with a house in the middle of the water where they meet an old man named Crocus. Meanwhile, Luffy finds himself in a series of narrow passages and comes across two mysterious people inside known only as Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday who apparently are plotting to kill the whale. Eventually, Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats reunite and it is revealed that the strange setting is in fact the whale's stomach. Crocus reveals that the whale's name is Laboon and that he is trying to ram into the mountain. Crocus manages to stop Laboon and after a brief struggle with the mysterious pair, Crocus begins to explain to the Straw Hats why the whale is covered with scars. Years ago, Laboon befriended a group of pirates who stopped by the lighthouse, where Crocus worked, to make repairs on their ship. When they entered The Grand Line, Laboon, then only a very small whale, followed them. Out of fear for the whale's safety the pirates told Laboon to stay behind with Crocus, promising they would return someday. The pirates apparently fled the Grand Line later and never came back for Laboon, who continues to wait for them though it has been over fifty years. The reason his head is scarred is that Laboon believes he can break through the mountain to reach his friends. Despite Crocus telling Laboon the truth, he still continues to ram into the mountain as it is the only hope Laboon has. Crocus helps the Straw Hats out of the whale where Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday are thrown out to sea and escape. Once Crocus finishes Laboon's tale, Luffy suddenly picks a fight with Laboon again by jamming the Going Merry's mast into his forehead. After a brief scuffle between the whale and Luffy, Luffy claims the match to be a tie though he tells Laboon they will have a rematch when he and his crew come back from the Grand Line. As an extra precaution to this promise, Luffy paints the Straw Hats' pirate symbol on the whale's forehead, citing that if Laboon rams his head into the mountain it will wash away. Finally, Crocus explains to the Straw Hats that a regular compass will not work past Reverse Mountain and that they need a Log Pose if they want to travel the Grand Line. Crocus explains how the Log Pose works and mentions the final destination of the Grand Line, Raftel, where One Piece may lay as the only person to reach there was Gol D. Roger. Luffy reveals a Log Pose he found after they dumped the Mr. 9 pair but it is broken so Crocus loans them his. The Mr. 9 pair spies on the group from afar until they are knocked into the ocean by the Unluckies for failing their mission to kill Laboon. They reacquaint themselves with the Straw Hats again and beg them to take the two to their hometown, Whiskey Peak, to which Luffy agrees. With that they bid Crocus and Laboon farewell and set off. As he watches them go, Crocus begins to wonder if these are the pirates they have been waiting for due to their strange atmosphere and asks if Roger thinks so too as the arc comes to a close. Story Impact *Despite being a mini arc, the Reverse Mountain Arc has a major connection with the future storyline. One of Laboon's Rumbar Pirate friends will later join the Straw Hats: Brook. The crew Crocus was a doctor for three years with none other than the Roger Pirates, as revealed by Silvers Rayleigh in Chapter 506. *This arc also marks the first encounter with the Baroque Works agents as well as an introduction to the Grand Line's unique geography with the Log Pose and the magnetic fields. *The Straw Hat Pirates finally enter the Grand Line. Trivia *This, the Loguetown Arc and the Return to Sabaody Arc with five chapters each, are the shortest arcs in the manga. References Arc Navigation Site Navigation es:Arco_de_Reverse_Mountain